17 Ways WWE Has Changed Since It Was The WWF
13. The Life & Death & Life & Death Of Mr McMahon
In 2002, Vince McMahon promised to kill his own creation by revealing that he’d painted the New World Order’s initials backwards on his office chair. This, somehow, would end up being the least absurd way he tried to wreak havoc on himself over the course of the decade.
The quote in the above image emerged from one of Bruce Prichard’s revealing asides about McMahon’s intention to remove the evil overlord character he’d crafted from television - an astonishing tale if true, considering how often he’s relied only on himself to boost ratings over the years. In The Chairman’s defence, the evidence partially stacks up.
In 2007, he was blown up in a limousine before a tragic real life tale overwhelmed that angle. In 2008, an ultimately-ignored whodunnit saw his “Million Dollar Mania” set collapse on him as if to imply that his wealth had quite literally been the death of him. Triple H reduced him to a blubbering wreck in 2011 upon revealing the news that the Board Of Directors wanted him ousted before that too was abandoned within months.
The Mr McMahon persona now slowly stroll towards the grave rather than diving in headfirst. Aging years by the week, the vitriolic gravitas behind the gimmick has long passed on, even if the relentless vehicle remains.